3 Filipino teachers win Microsoft leadership awards

The three winners of the Microsoft Philippines’ 7th Innovative Teachers Leadership Awards, are Estelito Mendoza (far left) from Baguio National High School, Shaleen Seraña (second from left) from Tuan Datu Hadji Abdulla Niño Memorial High School, and Edalyn Olis (second from right) from Lala National High School. Also with them is Arcy Bartolome (center) the Public Sector Director, Microsoft Philippines, and Agnes Espinosa (far right) the Sales and Marketing Director of Acer Philippines.

MANILA, Philippines—Three Filipino public school teachers were triumphant in the Asia-Pacific round of the international Innovative Teachers Leadership Awards (ITLA) given by Microsoft’s global Partners in Learning program.

Shateen Serana from Tuan Datu Hadji Abdulla Nuño Memorial High School in the Zamboanga City Division was the grand winner of the regional round held last March 20 to 22 in Auckland, New Zealand and will represent the entire Asia-Pacific region to the international finals which will be held in Greece.

“I am so blessed that I was able to join in the Microsoft Innovative Teacher Leadership Awards. I am very happy and proud to represent the Philippines in the Regional Competition and now in the Global competition in Greece,” Serana said in a statement released by Microsoft.

Serana’s winning entry was a mangrove reforestation program designed and organized by the students. They participated in seminar sessions with the Department of Environment and Natural Resources on the effects of Mangrove deforestation. They then passed on what they learned through seminars and fora to members of the community and local government units to implement the reforestation project.

Estelito Mendoza from Baguio City National High School in the Baguio City Division was a runner-up in the “Collaboration” category, while Edalyn Olis from Lala National High School in the Lanao del Norte Division won the “Innovation in a challenging context” category.

Mendoza said that “it is an honor and privilege to represent our country to the program and to compete with other innovative teachers in the region. This is also a victory of my students, my school.”

Mendoza’s project focuses on students’ solutions to social issues as “population growth, human rights, environmental degradation, etc.” The students were asked to formulate creative actions that will create an impact “beyond the walls of the classroom.” Mendoza has been implementing the projects for the last eight years.

Olis said that the forum “has given me the chance to grow professionally and be with the brightest minds in the Asia Pacific region. The trip is an answered prayer and I’m glad Microsoft was used as an instrument. The victory is a big bonus. God is good all the time.”

The project of Olis is a video documentary made by students seeking to promote environmental awareness among the local communities. They used Microsoft’s basic video editing program, the Moviemaker, to create the documentary.

Michelle Casio, the Education lead of Microsoft Philippines, said in a phone interview that this was the first time all three teachers who won in the national round also won in the regional round.

They competed in the regional round against 63 teachers from 14 countries in the entire Asia-Pacific region after winning in the national round last March 2  during Microsoft’s annual Innovative Education Forum.

In the national round, the top three teachers won aspire one Acer notebooks each and an all-expenses paid trip to Auckland, New Zealand where they also won the regional round of the international awards.

The ITLA recognizes outstanding efforts of top public elementary and secondary school teachers who have successfully integrated technology into the curriculum improving the learning process for both students and teachers.

ITLA is part of Microsoft’s Partners in Learning worldwide advocacy to improve education. The program is undertaken in cooperation with the Philippine’s Department of Education (DepEd) to give educators access to technology and provide them with training and tools so they can utilize Information Technology in the classroom to improve students performance.

Partners in Learning has reached up to 3,000,000 individuals since it was introduced in the Philippines, Microsoft said in their statement.